Authored By Sean Phipps

With more than 10 breweries operating in Chattanooga, the Scenic City's craft beer scene is gaining a positive reputation. And that's a good enough reason to celebrate. Organizers with The Daily Ration have announced the inaugural Citizen Brews Beer Festival featuring only Chattanooga breweries and their beers. The festival is from 3 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 1. General admission is free and families are encouraged to attend. Drink tickets are $5 each with a dollar from every ticket going to Chattanooga Friends, a nonprofit that supports Northside Neighborhood House and Siskin Children's Institute. An early bird VIP ticket is available for those who want to guarantee the best experience. VIP tickets are $40 and include 8 drink tickets, a “Citizen Brews” sticker and a “Citizen Brews” logo pint glass that will allow you to get an extra 4-ounces of beer with each drink ticket. VIP packages are limited. More information is here. Eight breweries will be represented and each will provide two specialty beers — a new release or limited release — during the event. Breweries include Heaven & Ale, Hutton & Smith, Oddstory Brewing Co., Chattanooga Brewing Co., Terminal Brewhouse, Big River Brewing, Wanderlinger Brewing and Naked River Brewing. "At The Daily Ration, we strive to use as many local products in our restaurant as possible, from food to coffee to beer," Daily Ration general manager, Jeff Schwenke said. "So creating an event like Citizen Brews, that features all our Chattanooga breweries, made sense for us." In addition to local brews, Citizen Brews will feature prize raffles and live music. The raffle will include items such as T-shirts, special beers and more. "We really wanted to highlight the great beer we have here in town and bring all the breweries together," Schwenke said. "As far as I know, that really hasn’t been done before in this way." The Daily Ration will be open for breakfast and brunch — 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. — ahead of the event.